Your Right to Know

Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoMost of the money spent on television ads has been directed against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, right, in hopes of replacing him with GOP state Treasurer Josh Mandel, left.

WASHINGTON — Even though Ohio’s Senate race is not deemed among the nation’s most competitive
this year, outside groups already have poured in about $5 million.

That’s the most in the country, Democrats say. Republicans don’t dispute the assertion.

The bulk of the money for ads that began airing last year is focused squarely on ousting
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and replacing him with GOP state Treasurer Josh Mandel.

The Ohio contest, along with a handful of other U.S. Senate races, could decide which party
controls the Senate beginning next year. Currently, Democrats hold a slim majority, with 51
Democrats, 47 Republicans and two independents who traditionally vote with Democrats.

Among the groups that have invested the most so far are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has
spent more than $2.4 million, and the 60 Plus Association, which bills itself as a conservative
alternative to the AARP, allocating more than $1.4 million, including a $720,000 ad that began
airing in mid-March.

Brittany Gross, a spokeswoman for the association, said the ad focused on a portion of the 2009
health-care bill. The ad, mirroring one that the organization ran in November, features Pat Boone,
and urges viewers to call Brown about the health-care bill.

By comparison, it appears just one group — the League of Conservation Voters — has aired ads in
support of Brown, releasing a spot in the Columbus media market last week thanking Brown for his
support of clean energy. A league spokeswoman would not disclose how much the organization is
spending, but said it was “well into the six figures” and will air for two weeks.

Also shelling out for the anti-Brown camp: Crossroads GPS, the conservative advocacy
organization affiliated with former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove. The group has spent about
$800,000 on two issue-ad buys urging voters to contact Brown.

“You could say this race is one of our higher priorities,” said Bryan Goettel, senior manager of
media relations for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who declined to talk about the amount the chamber
spent. “We went up with ads earlier than ever before.”

He said the chamber picked Brown in part because of how he fares on the chamber’s “scorecard” —
how he votes on legislative issues important to the chamber, such as the 2009 health-care law.

While conservative groups have come out in strength against Brown, Republicans say they expect
Democrats, too, will weigh in against Mandel. The Ohio Democratic Party has worked to fill in the
gaps with near daily press releases blasting Mandel for everything from skipping meetings of the
Ohio Board of Deposits to a recent fundraising trip — financed by payday lenders — to the
Bahamas.

“We fully expect to be outspent by Sherrod Brown’s deep-pocketed special-interest friends in
Washington,” said Travis Considine, a Mandel spokesman who said Mandel “will remain focused on
fighting for new jobs and new sources of American energy, beginning right here in Ohio.”

But Justin Barasky, a Brown spokesman, countered that when all is said and done, outside groups
will likely weigh in far more heavily on behalf of Mandel and against Brown than vice versa.

“We don’t have as much special-interest money as Republicans,” he said.

Political analysts say though it’s early, outside money spent on this race might overwhelm
earlier levels of funding. In 2006, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, outside groups
spent $17.9 million on the race between then-Sen. Mike DeWine and Brown. In 2010, outside groups
spent $3.2 million on the race between Sen. Rob Portman and Democrat Lee Fisher.

Those figures aren’t completely comparable, however: For one thing, a series of 2010 court
rulings upended campaign-finance rules, paving the way for private business and unions to spend an
unlimited amount of money on political campaigns.

The results have been nearly immediate: the Center for Responsive Politics reports that outside
groups had spent more than $91million as of March 23 on political campaigns. In 2008, outside
groups had spent about $38 million as of the same date.

Jessica Taylor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report said the Brown-Mandel matchup is
not considered one of the top competitive races in the country. But because of the 2010 court
rulings, it wouldn’t surprise her to see it become one of the most expensive races in Ohio history,
in large part because of outside spending.

“It’s reasonable to expect that we’re going to see a lot of outside groups show interest in lots
of races around the country,” she said.

Brown, who is frequently critical of outside spending and has co-sponsored bills to limit it,
has made an issue of their focus on the race. On May 12, Brown campaign manager Sarah Benzing sent
out a memo highlighting the amount spent, which at the time was $4.7 million.

Columbus markets have seen a little more than $1 million in outside groups’ ad buys that have
aired over the span of 15 weeks.

That so much money has been spent so early is a reflection of the obvious, said Jennifer Duffy,
a political analyst with the Cook Political Report: The race is destined to be competitive.

She said the outside spending is just the beginning.

“It’s not all campaign ads,” Duffy said. “Some is issue stuff. But I would expect more. It’s a
swing state for the presidential election, so it’s going to be a focus of a lot of love.”